Elizabeth Finlayson Gauld facts for kids

Elizabeth Finlayson Gauld (born Elizabeth Russell around 1863, died 1941) was an important activist from Edinburgh, Scotland. She worked for many years to help women get the right to vote. This movement was called women's suffrage. She also supported Scotland becoming more independent and loved performing in plays. She married John Finlayson Gauld in 1901.

Elizabeth Gauld was also interested in the Temperance movement. This movement encouraged people to drink less alcohol. In 1912, she gave a powerful speech in Haddington about the moral side of temperance.

Fighting for Women's Vote

Elizabeth Gauld became involved in the women's suffrage movement in 1909. At first, she made a small donation to the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Edinburgh. The WSPU was a group that worked hard for women's voting rights.

Leading the Way

By 1910, Gauld was a very active leader. She spoke at many events around Edinburgh. For example, she talked about a big suffrage march in London at a "Hot scone tea" event. She also hosted an "At home" event for teachers at the WSPU office.

Gauld also led outdoor suffrage events. In November, she helped prepare special umbrellas. Volunteers painted "votes for women" on black umbrellas and paraded them in public. This activity was praised by important leaders like Dr. Anna Howard Shaw from the United States. The year ended with Gauld protesting outside Edinburgh's King’s Theatre during a visit by politician David Lloyd George.

Big Events and Marches

In 1911, Gauld helped lead a protest about the Conciliation Bill. This bill aimed to give some women the right to vote. She spoke from a lorry in Princes Street with Anna Munro and Alexia B Jack. The lorry was decorated in the colours of the Women's Freedom League, another suffrage group.

In 1912, Gauld became even more well-known. She spoke at a large meeting with Muriel Scott. They defended Edith Johnson (also known as Ethel Moorhead), who had damaged a display of William Wallace's sword. This protest showed that freedom is often "won by fighting."

Gauld was also a key part of the Women’s March from Edinburgh to London. This march was organized by Florence Gertrude de Fonblanque. Gauld spoke in towns like Haddington and Dunbar along the way. She was a main speaker in Trafalgar Square in London, alongside leaders like Charlotte Despard and Anna Munro.

Many years later, in 1939, Gauld created a play about these events. It was part of a special stage presentation for the Edinburgh Women’s Citizens’ Association.

Supporting Imprisoned Suffragettes

In 1912, Gauld made a "moving appeal" to support suffragettes who were in jail. She spoke at a meeting where Agnes Syme Macdonald, a suffragette who had just been released, shared her prison experiences. Gauld was also in charge of organizing a newspaper-selling spot in Princes Street. She had help from many other women, including Miss Arabella Scott and Mrs Dallas.

In 1914, Gauld was a main speaker against forcible feeding. This was a cruel practice used on suffragettes in prison. The event started in Charlotte Square with Gauld, Nancy A John, and Muriel Scott speaking. A parade, led by piper Bessie Watson, then went to the house of Dr Cadel. Ethel Moorhead, who had recently been force-fed in Calton Jail, was very ill there.

Later Activism

When World War I started, many suffrage events stopped. Elizabeth Gauld then focused on war-related activities. In 1915, she spoke at an outdoor meeting about the example of Florence Nightingale. Nightingale was a famous nurse.

Gauld also spoke strongly about the war. In 1915, she said that "Germany must be crushed" at a meeting of the Rosebery Royal Scots Recruiting Committee. She and her husband also performed a war play at an event attended by important people, including the Lord Provost of Edinburgh.

Scottish Self-Determination

After the war, Gauld became involved in the movement for self-determination for Scotland. This meant Scotland having more control over its own affairs. She spoke at events in Edinburgh in 1919. In 1922, she was part of the William Wallace Anniversary events. She was quoted saying that "'Wallace stood for sentiment because freedom was a sentiment that demanded the right of the people to make…and uphold their own laws'."

She also spoke out against women being kept out of the legal profession. She believed that "justice delayed is justice denied."

Gauld continued to support equal voting rights for women. In 1926, she chaired a session of a school organized by the Edinburgh National Society for Equal Citizenship. The main speaker was Lady Balfour of Burleigh. This was the last time her name appeared in the news for her activism.

Theatrical Life

Elizabeth Gauld and her husband loved amateur theatre. They were both actors and Gauld was also a stage manager and playwright. They worked together to arrange music and plays. In 1910, they took part in a big St Andrew’s Night celebration in Musselburgh.

In 1912, they performed songs and plays at a WSPU meeting in Edinburgh. Gauld organized all the entertainment herself.

Plays and Performances

In 1915, both Gaulds helped raise money for soldiers during World War I. Their play, Elders’ bairns, premiered at the Empire Theatre in Edinburgh. It was described as "spiced with gems of humour and Scottish philosophy." Both Gaulds also acted in the play.

At a garden party in Linlithgow, Gauld's husband performed a funny sketch. Gauld herself gave a "Scotch" recitation called Hogmanay. The newspaper said she performed it with "very considerable dramatic power." Gauld also oversaw a popular pageant about famous women at Donaldson's Hospital in October 1915.

In 1916, a comedy play written only by Gauld was performed. It was called A brass farthing and had a large cast. It was performed at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh and received "enthusiastic applause." The money raised helped wounded Royal Scots soldiers.

Gauld continued her theatre work into the 1920s. She helped create a play based on Walter Scott’s Weir of Hermiston with a local councillor. The Scotsman newspaper gave it a very good review. At a second performance, Gauld's husband played "The hanging Judge" and was praised for his acting.

Gauld also worked with her friend and fellow suffrage campaigner Nannie Brown. For example, in 1925, she helped produce Brown’s play The Matrimonial Tea Party.

In 1929, a special show was created to celebrate 600 years since Robert the Bruce gave Edinburgh its Charter. Gauld was the producer for one part of this show and also helped write the script. This event was organized by the Outlook Tower Association.

Also in 1929, Nannie Brown organized women wearing traditional Scottish plaids and shawls at a Scottish Rural Institutes event. A "historical episode" from Gauld’s play St Margaret of Scotland was also presented. This is the last time her name is found in public records.

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